Colossians

The third of
the Prison Epistles is another argument against false teachers and
false doctrine. Modern criticism has debated Paul’s authorship
of this letter, mostly on the basis that the letter appears to be
fighting cults found historically in the second century A.D. The early
voice of the church fathers is solely in favor of Pauline authorship.

Nature of the Heresy

It is important to understand
the nature of what Paul fought against. This helps to place the epistle
in the Apostle’s portfolio of writing and to demonstrate that the
attacks against the Gospel are as old as the Gospel itself.

The heresy demoted the Deity
of Jesus. This leads Paul early in the letter to expound on the glory
and Person of Christ. Coupled with this demotion are several ritualistic
concepts designed to help practice the “true religion.” These
include:

salvation by wisdom - 1:28

abstinence from certain foods
and some types of drink - 2:16,22

observance of Jewish feasts
and Sabbaths - 2:16

a stress on "self-abasement"
and visions - 2:18,23

angelic worship in some form
- 2:18

a stress on worship which
was human in origin, a "self-made” religion-worship - 2:23

praising the value of treating
the body severely - 2:23

"Philosophy and empty deceit"
espousing the "elementary principles of the world" - 2:8

licentiousness - 3:5-9

This new religion which offered
advanced knowledge and a better way appears to be a combination of paganism,
Judaism, mysticism, and Christianity, what is called a Syncretistic Religion.
It probably contains the elements of Gnosticism, but it is not the Gnostic
religion which developed later. This is where the modern critical scholars
have erred.

There exist
a variety of empty religions at the time of Christ and following
His death. We previously discussed the elements of Gnosticism when
we looked at the Gospel of John and will see again in 1 John. The
beginnings of these elements show up in various letters. In most
of the cases, the early battles were with Judaizers, those who wanted
to impose the burdens of the Jewish religion upon the Christians.
This group borrowed from other existing religions to form the rudiments
of a new religion. This has always been the pattern. When Jeroboam
pulled the ten northern tribes of the Jewish nation away from the
two southern tribes, one of his first actions was to institute a
religion in the north which resembled that practiced by the Jews
before the split in the Nation (1 Kings 12:25-33). So it has continued
ever since.

There were three main
“left overs” which formed the basis of most of the early
cults.

The Nicolaitans by tradition
were formed by Nicolaus of Antioch (Acts 6:5). Their goal was to
create a compromise whereby the Christians could take part in the
various pagan ceremonies and religious activities. This group is
attacked by Peter (2 Pet 2:15), Jude (11), and John (Rev 2:6, 15).
The main thrust of this mixing was sexual in nature. This group
may have been one of the major wings of the Gnostic sects by the
end of the second century.

The Stoics are a school
of philosophy apparently first formed in the era of 325-260 B.C.
in Athens. This group evolved over time, adding many of the teachings
of Plato to their beliefs by the time Paul encounters them (Acts
17:8). Their goal to find meaning to life was to align the will
with the “inherent reason” of the universe. This they
referred to as the logos. Logos simply means word and is the same
term used by John to describe Christ in John 1:1-3. This led many
critics to belief John was pushing this mix of religion. However,
it is clear that John’s use of the term is considerably different
than that intended by the Stoics. The Stoics find Reason to equal
God. John clearly does not.

The other group mentioned
in Acts 17:8 is the Epicureans. This group was found by Epicurus
and arose a little later than the Stoics. The uncertainty of life
drove this group to attempt to find satisfaction and happiness through
serene detachment with the world. The group found its happiness
in limiting desire and taking joy and solace in friendship. This
combination eventually led to a perversion of the original teachings
of the group where the joys of friendship developed into the pursuit
of extravagant pleasures – wine, women, and song! As such,
this group did not incorporate itself into Christianity as readily
as did the Stoics. But, on the other hand, think of relatively modern
day cults such as the group in Waco, Texas, which found its pleasures
in a limited group sharing in a communal sense more than just food,
yet, trying to apply the Bible to its situation.

While these are not the only religions
of ancient Palestine, the combinations of these create the foundation for
most of the early cults fought by the church. As Solomon wrote, “there
is no new thing under the sun” (Ecc 1:9). The New Age cults of today
are nothing more than old cults recast in new clothes. When we study carefully
the problems faced by the early church, we find the solutions to the problems
faced by the modern church!

Theme and Purpose

For
in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.Colossians
2:

Clearly, the
purpose of this letter is to combat the heresies which were present
in the church. It appears Paul never made a personal visit to this
church or city (2:1). The city is about 90 miles form Ephesus and
the church at Colosse was probably found during Paul’s time
in Ephesus (Acts 19:10). As a city, Colosse is the least significant
of those written by the Apostle. Ephahras may have been the missionary
who actually instructed those in Colosse (Col. 1:7). Note that Philemon
and Onesimus were leaders in Colosse (4:9). The false teachings invading
the church now threatened its existence and Paul sought to stop this
cancerous spread. He does this by directing asserting the Deity and
supremacy of Christ (1:15-3:4).

And, as with all of his letters,
the Apostle strives to encourage his readers and develop some personal
application from the doctrinal portions (3:5-4:6)

This letter is also Christological
in nature, emphasizing the Personal Work of Christ (2:10). The argument
of the letter, both for our personal life and in dealing with the cults,
is that Jesus is all we need. A review of the outline of the letter shows
its key elements.

Chapter 1 emphasizes the Person
and Work of Christ, especially - 1:15-20.

Chapter 2 argues for the proposition
that Christ plus nothing is all we need because of His pre-eminence. This
is the argument Paul uses to fight the various heresies he sees present
in Colosse:

enticing words 2:4

philosophy 2:8

legalism 2:14-17

mysticism 2:18, 19

asceticism 2:20-23

Chapters 3 and 4 reflect
the cause and effect of a transformed life in Christ. This new life
created by salvation should be transformed in our relations to:

Jesus 3:1-4

our personal life 3:5-12

the Saints 3:13, 14

the Bible 3:16

God 3:17

our home 3:18-21

our Christian service 3:22-25

our work relationships 4:1

our prayer life 4:2-4

toward the unsaved 4:5, 6

church leaders 4:7-18

A Comparison of the Christology
of Ephesians and Colossians:

EPHESIANS

Emphasizes
the Body (Church)

The
spirit is pastoral

The
emphasis is on oneness in Christ

COLOSSIANS

Emphasizes
the Head (Christ)

The
spirit is polemical

The
emphasis is on completeness in Christ

Polemical
is an argument or controversial discussion. Polemics is the art
or practice of disputation or controversy. In this sense, most of
the letters of the New Testament are polemical in nature, since
they argue for the Gospel. Apologetics, by comparison, is the presentation
of the defense and proofs of your position. Arguing in a court room
is apologetics, while being on the debate team is polemics.

What traits
can you identify in the cults of today that match those Paul describes
in Colossians?

Are the solutions suggested
by Paul be useful in fighting today’s cults?